Raiders draft picks yield early treasure

At first glance, the Oakland Raiders 2012 NFL Draft would make most people snicker as they have just five picks (three coming from awarded compensatory picks). They are tied with the Saints for the fewest picks in the draft.

However, one needs to look back and see what players they received for their traded draft picks before you can fully judge.

Last October, the Raiders were in trouble. They were 4-2 after six games but lost Jason Campbell to a broken collarbone in Week Six.

Following the trade, Palmer played in each of the Raiders last 10 games (starting nine), with the Raiders going 4-6 to finish 8-8. Despite no training camp and learning the offense on the job, Palmer finished with a 62.3 QBR, 11th among qualifying quarterbacks.

Those picks turned into OL Joe Barksdale and RB Taiwan Jones. While neither is a starter, they are currently second at their positions on the Raiders depth chart and could eventually start for the team.

Third Round
Used in the 2011 Supplemental draft to take QB Terrelle Pryor

Quarterbacks in NFL Supplemental Draft

Team

Record

Terrelle Pryor

Raiders

0-0

Dave Brown

Giants

26-34

Timm Rosenbach

Cardinals

5-15

Steve Walsh

Cowboys

21-20

Bernie Kosar

Browns

56-58-1

Dave Wilson

Saints

12-19

This was certainly a risky play, but Pryor may serve as their backup this season behind Palmer with the Raiders hoping that he can become a future starter.

In supplemental draft history, Only six quarterbacks have been drafted in supplemental draft history, not including the 1984 draft that included players from the CFL and USFL. Each of the previous five made at least 20 starts in the NFL, but only Steve Walsh had a winning record.

Fourth Round
Traded to the Redskins in April 2010 as part of a deal for Jason Campbell

This trade would have looked better if Campbell had stayed healthy last season and led the Raiders to the playoffs. Campbell won 11 of his 18 starts for the Raiders despite sporting a QBR of 43.8 in two seasons. Among qualifying quarterbacks in that time period, Campbell’s QBR ranked 28th.

Of all the picks on this list, this pick could have the most value. Curry was the fourth overall pick in 2009 but fell out of favor in Seattle. After the trade in early October, Curry started nine games and had 46 tackles, including five for a loss, and is slated to start for the Raiders this season.

Summary

The Raiders used three picks in the 2012 draft to acquire quarterbacks (Palmer, Pryor and Campbell). Since 1967, only once has a team drafted three quarterbacks in a single draft - the 1975 Raiders - who selected Dave Humm (5th round, 128th overall), Harry Knight (9th round, 232nd overall) and Tom Doyle (14th round, 362nd overall).

The Raiders used five picks in the 2012 draft in five different trades but they did pick up two starters, including a quarterback, and three backup players who could contribute to the Raiders in the future.

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